Memorandum submitted by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office on Iraq, No-Fly Zones and sanctions

By letter dated 28 February 2001, the Chairman
to the Foreign Affairs Committee sought a memorandum from the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office on HMG's policy towards Iraq,
including the No-Fly Zones (NFZs) and sanctions.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Memorandum
FCO/FAC/001-01 of 8 March 2001 sets out the background to the
NFZs over Iraq. The Defence Committee's Thirteenth Report of Session
1999-2000 (dated 2 August 2000), on Iraqi No-Fly Zones (HC 453),
also examined the background to the UK's participation in these
operations.

The NFZs were established in 1991 (in the north)
and 1992 (in the south) in support of UN Security Council resolution
688 (1991) which called on the Iraqi regime to end its repression
of the civilian population. HMG remains satisfied that the maintenance
of the NFZs is legally justified as a necessary and proportionate
measure to prevent a humanitarian crisis. The legal basis for
British activity in the NFZs is kept under continuous review.
In accordance with established practice, legal advice is not disclosed.

Coalition aircraft conducting patrols in the
NFZs are entitled to act in self-defence in response to efforts
by the Iraqis to shoot them down. In January 2001, the Iraqis
fired more surface-to-air missiles at coalition aircraft than
they had in the whole of 2000. The action taken against Iraqi
military targets on 16 February was a joint operation in self-defence
by UK and US aircraft in response to this increased threat. There
was full bilateral consultation over this operation.

There is no relationship between the action
in the NFZs on 16 February and the continuing review of our policy
on sanctions. HMG has worked consistently to refine the "oil
for food" programme with the aim of improving the humanitarian
situation of the Iraqi people, while targetting controls more
closely on the Iraqi regime. We have led efforts to alleviate
the suffering of the Iraqi people through successive "oil
for food" resolutions of the Security Council, including
the introduction of "fast-track" clearance procedures
for up to 16,000 listed humanitarian items. We aim to focus our
controls increasingly on items of greatest concernmilitary
equipment and WMD materials.

We take seriously our responsibilities as a
member of the UN Iraq Sanctions Committee. Whenever we become
aware of apparent breaches of sanctions on Iraq we ask relevant
governments to investigate them thoroughly. We raise clear violations
of sanctions with the Committee. We are also leading efforts in
the Committee to tackle Iraq's attempts to obtain revenue outside
UN control through the imposition of illegal surcharges on its
oil exports and illegal commissions on its humanitarian imports.

The Chairman of the Committee asked about three
possible sanctions-breaking activities. The attendance of businessmen
from the US, or any other country, at the annual Baghdad Trade
Fair is not in itself a breach of sanctions. The UN "oil
for food" humanitarian programme, with revenue of about $14
billion since SCR 1284 was passed in December 1999, offers considerable
opportunities for legitimate trade with Iraq. We are supporting
British companies in their efforts to win a share of this trade.

The UK contributes to the Multinational Interdiction
Force's (MIF) patrols to deter smuggling in the Gulf. Small vessels
smuggle oil from non-approved terminals at Abu Flus and Khawr
al-Zubayr, through Iranian waters, for transhipment to larger
vessels or onshore storage facilities in the UAE. The amount of
oil smuggled via this route fluctuates depending on the price
of oil and the effectiveness of patrols. Due to the interdiction
efforts of the MIF and the Iranian authorities patrolling in the
Gulf, the volume of oil exported illegally in this way has dropped
to about 15,000 bpd, compared with 100,000 bpd smuggled in January
2000.

We remain concerned at the smuggling of Iraqi
oil by overland routes, including by truck through Turkey, which
provides the Iraqi regime with revenue outside UN control. This
also reduces the pressure on the regime to comply with its obligations
and to cooperate with the UN in allowing weapons inspectors to
return to Iraq. We continue to raise the illegal export of Iraqi
oil both bilaterally with the countries concerned and in the Sanctions
Committee.

We are continuing our discussions on Iraq with
the US administration and other key allies, focusing on our fundamental
objective of containing the threat which Iraq poses to the region.
We are considering how best to meet this objective while reducing
the opportunity for the Iraqi regime to blame the UN humanitarian
programme for its own shortcomings in providing for the Iraqi
people.